- NHTSA will only exempt up to 2,500 vehicles that don't conform with federal safety standards per year per manufacturer
- This could be a speedbump for Tesla's Robotaxi unless laws change
- The laws may not change unless the government is satisfied that Tesla (and other makes) can prove self-driving tech is safe enough
If there's one thing that Tesla CEO Elon Musk loves, it's a bold promise with an overly eager deadline. The latest rendition comes in an all-new Robotaxi flavor.
At Tesla's underwhelming We, Robot event, the brand made some big promises on how it plans to fill the streets with a fleet of autonomous vehicles. That's something we've heard before, but this time, Tesla plans to release a dedicated car that will do exactly that: the Robotaxi. Maybe it'll happen this time, but there's a major hurdle that Tesla will need to overcome. As written, laws and regulations in the U.S. won't support Tesla's timeline without major, rapid reform.
Here's the deal, automakers can't just slap some wheels on a spaceship and call it a day. There are certain road rules that must be followed. If Tesla wants to put something on the road with no steering wheel, no pedals, no charge port, and—most importantly—no driver, it must first get permission from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to do so.
As the rules are written, NHTSA will only allow automakers to deploy a measly 2,500 autonomous vehicles each year under what's called a temporary exemption. These vehicles can exist without conforming to certain requirements under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. For reference, these are the same exemptions that exotic automakers can qualify and apply for so they can pump out low-volume vehicles while not including certain safety features like airbags or, in the Robotaxi's case, steering wheels. The keyword is "low-volume," which is not what Tesla has planned for its Robotaxi.
"Unless Congress increases this limit, as several failed bills would have done, exemptions aren’t a viable route for a mass manufacturer," said University of South Carolina law professor Bryant Walker Smith in an interview with Automotive News.
The bills that Smith mentions are ones like the SELF-DRIVE Act. Under that particular bill, the exemption would increase the number of vehicles that could qualify for an exemption up to 100,000. But since no bill has passed into law at the time of writing, the number remains pinned at 2,500.
Federal laws aren't the only hurdle that Tesla will overcome. Some states also have their own non-uniform laws that Tesla (or whoever is operating the autonomous vehicle) will need to comply with. For example, Texas takes a very neutral approach where AV operators aren't required to be permitted, whereas California requires regulatory oversight that can (and will) revoke the permit over safety risks.
And then there's the big elephant in the room, which isn't necessarily a law but is certainly a hurdle nonetheless: Tesla's tech. The thing is, Tesla has been promising to solve self-driving "next year" for almost a decade. Part of the complication is going against the grain and refusing help from lidar in favor of cost-saving cameras. A novel idea, but with even the most advanced AV companies struggling to solve every edge case, many industry experts can't help but wonder if a cheaper camera-based system can compete.
"Any imminent regulatory hurdles are because Tesla does not have and cannot show a reasonably safe automated driving system," said Smith.
As cool as the Robotaxi unveiling might have been, it's important to remember that it was staged on a movie set and reportedly mapped with Lidar ahead of time. What was displayed at the event may have been a cool concept. However, there's a lot of work—both technical and regulatory—that needs to happen before a truly driverless car can be bought and operated by consumers on public streets. But, hey, maybe 2026 is the year.
Contact the author: rob.stumpf@insideevs.com
